Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!

Sharknado 3 (2015)

** (out of 4)

Fin Shepard (Ian Ziering) is at the White House receiving a honor from the President of the United States (Mark Cuban) when another storm comes in carrying more sharks. After the attack Fin plans to make it to Florida to meet his pregnant wife (Tara Reid) and her mother (Bo Derek) but of course a bigger storm with even more sharks is brewing.

SHARKNADO pretty much came out of no where and did got moderate ratings but it set social media on fire and eventually became a cult film. Obviously a sequel was to follow and with its big ratings we now have this third film in the series. I think the biggest problem with SHARKNADO 3 is that they made it campy, silly and stupid on purpose and this really isn't how cult movies work. No, PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE and other "so bad they're good" movies work so well because their directors tried making something great and fell short. SHARKNADO was an attempt to make a serious film but it failed.

With the two sequels going for straight camp, the films aren't nearly as entertaining and I think the entire scenario is getting a little tiresome. After all, there's really nothing that happens here that we didn't see before. You can only see sharks falling from the sky so many times and the same could be said for a chainsaw ripping them up. For the most part the film remains slightly entertaining simply because of how dumb it is. Ziering and Reid offers decent performances and of course there's some wink cameos throughout. David Hasselhoff plays the father and we even have Cassie Scerbo and Frankie Muniz. Bo Derek is looking amazing at her age so it was nice seeing her here.

SHARKNADO 3 is a bad movie but it's one of those on purpose. Fans of the first two will want to check it out but lets hope they do something fresh with the next one.

SHARKNADO 3: OH HELL NO! review by Mike Smith In this 3rd installment of the Syfy original trilogy, Sharknado, a monstrous tornado unleashes ravenous sharks from Washington D.C., all the way down to Orlando Florida. It's up to Fin Shepard and his friends and family to save the day....again. I highly enjoyed the over the top cheesiness of the Sharknado franchise, but this one jumped the shark. The movie is outrageously ridiculous but it's a fun ride. The movie knows what it is and doesn't take it's self serious. One thing I loved about this Sharknado is the list of celebrity cameos. David Hasselhoff, Frankie Muniz, Bo Derek, the awesome Michael Winslow, Ne-Yo, WWE legend Chris Jericho, Bill Engvall, Jerry Springer, and the list goes on! The c.g. is bad, the story is ridiculous, the acting is cheesy but the movie is fun. Yes all 3 movies blend together and the movie is forgettable. If you like B movies then you may enjoy this as much as I did, but this movie isn't for everyone. I really hope that there are no plans for a Sharknado 4 because I think this film really pushed the franchise as far as it can go. Cheers and remember life won't suck as long as there is a good B movie to watch. 6.5 out of 10 Edited by Samantha Locke

SHARKNADO 3: OH HELL NO! review by Mike Smith In this 3rd installment of the Syfy original trilogy, Sharknado, a monstrous tornado unleashes ravenous sharks from Washington D.C., all the way down to Orlando Florida. It's up to Fin Shepard and his friends and family to save the day....again. I highly enjoyed the over the top cheesiness of the Sharknado franchise, but this one jumped the shark. The movie is outrageously ridiculous but it's a fun ride. The movie knows what it is and doesn't take it's self serious. One thing I loved about this Sharknado is the list of celebrity cameos. David Hasselhoff, Frankie Muniz, Bo Derek, the awesome Michael Winslow, Ne-Yo, WWE legend Chris Jericho, Bill Engvall, Jerry Springer, and the list goes on! The c.g. is bad, the story is ridiculous, the acting is cheesy but the movie is fun. Yes all 3 movies blend together and the movie is forgettable. If you like B movies then you may enjoy this as much as I did, but this movie isn't for everyone. I really hope that there are no plans for a Sharknado 4 because I think this film really pushed the franchise as far as it can go. Cheers and remember life won't suck as long as there is a good B movie to watch.

The first two Sharknado movies were not great and had a lot wrong with them, but they were guilty pleasure fun as long as not taken seriously. Sharknado 3 however was a let-down, it lacks the fun and charm of the first two as a result of being too self-aware and trying far too hard, really wanted to not take this seriously and view it as a guilty pleasure but it was just too amateurish and tired.

Sharknado 3 does start off great, with a thrilling James Bond-like opening credits sequence and the hilariously over-the-top sliding across the floor scene. Ian Ziering is likable and charismatic in the lead role, he plays it straight but still looks like he's having fun with the role, and Matt Lauer and Al Roker return and are amusing. The soundtrack is energetic and eerie enough, and there are a couple of reasonably fun death scenes, got a good chuckle out of Jerry Springer's.

Very little else works however. The rest of the acting is not very good at all, with Tara Reid being every bit as unspeakably awful as she was in the first two movies, her facial expressions look so expressionless and very forced in the few times she tries, her line delivery is mechanical and she constantly looks ill at ease. The dizzying amount of cameos and the quality of them are nowhere near as entertaining as before, not just the too deadpan approach but also that they're poorly written and feel too random and brief. Mark Cuban is incredibly annoying and like Reid shows no acting skills whatsoever, while on the other end of the spectrum, Frankie Muniz is lightweight to the point of being bland and David Hasselhoff is wooden.

Even for low-budget, Sharknado 3 is very shoddy stuff, the scenery is pretty good but the movie is shot in a very rushed-looking and drab way, editing is sloppy as well as choppy and the shark special effects are typical dreadfully artificial Asylum/SyFy fare. Regarding the shark attacks and death scenes, there are a few decent ones in the fun factor (Jerry Springer, Frankie Muniz) but on the most part the unintentional silliness comes at the expense of thrills and suspense, which are nowhere in sight, and while fun at first the unintentional silliness generally gets tiresome. The movie is directed flatly, the energy and enthusiasm this time around in the pacing is missing and there are too many cardboard characters that are difficult to give a toss about. The first two movies had some great funny lines, but the script here contains nothing remotely amusing or memorable and instead feels stale and tiresomely cheesy. Say what you will about the second Sharknado movie being a re-tread, but this movie is much more so, and with none of the fun, charm or energy of the previous two outings, with the Universal Studios scenes going on forever and leading nowhere. It's further not helped by trying too hard being dopey fun and in the process taking itself too seriously with everything played straight and overly-deadpan, that any life is sucked out.

All in all, the third movie in the Sharknado franchise has its moments but is very lacking on the whole this time round. 4/10 Bethany Cox

As storm clouds gather, chainsaw-wielding Sharknado hunter Ian Ziering (as Finley "Fin" Shepard) runs to collect an award from the US President. A "Sharknado" hits town and destroys many landmarks in Washington, DC, including the White House. Escaping the "worst sharknado" since the first one, according to the NBC-TV news anchors, Mr. Ziering escapes. Ziering looks very muscular; he must work out. Meanwhile, his sometimes wife Tara Reid (as April Wexler) is in Universal's Orlando, Florida amusement park. She is pregnant and receives motherly advice from mother Bo Derek (as May Wexler). Insert the "still beautiful" notation regarding Ms. Derek, as needed. As the sharks thicken, Ziering re-encounters partner Cassie Scerbo (as Nova Clarke), who is hanging around with mechanic/bodyguard Frankie Muniz (as Lucas Stevens). Ziering and the "Sharknado" head for Florida and all hell breaks loose...

Syfy's "Sharknado" disaster TV Movie series is officially getting long in the tooth. The first two were much more fun.

"Sharknado" (2013) used humor to effectively poke fun at itself. "Sharknado 2" (2014) acknowledged that, connecting with viewers who watched the first one to have fun. All were directed by Anthony C. Ferrante, who may be hampered by formula demands from the studio. This one retreads old material (from various disaster films) and loses much of the "laughing at itself" appeal so prevalent in the second movie. New is an interactive chance for the viewer to "kill off" a leading character. This gimmick was used by DC Comics' "Batman" (#427, 1988). The "Sharknado" character in question doesn't do much, anyway. The music is up to par. David Hasselhoff is a promising, but unimaginative addition. A former "Malcolm in the Middle" child star, Mr. Muniz catches the "Sharknado" spirit perfectly; he is the best supporting actor. The movie's most grievous error is not serving Ann Coulter a richly deserved fate.

**** Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! (2015-07-22) Anthony C. Ferrante ~ Ian Ziering, Tara Reid, Cassie Scerbo, David Hasselhoff